3 April: into the clearest light

We read more of Eberhard Arnold’s reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and how we apply it today.

Jesus prophesied that the Spirit would remind the church of everything he had said (John 14:26). Within the church the Spirit will put Jesus’ life into the clearest light, revealing through it the entire future of the kingdom of God. Further, the Spirit, through the active mission of the church, will convict and convince the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. . . . (John 16:7–11) The prince of this world, the spirit of the age that rules everywhere over all peoples, is judged by Jesus (Luke 10:18) – judged not by legions of angel princes answering Satan’s violence with violence, but by the perfect love of Jesus Christ, revealed on the cross. . . . (Matt. 26:53)

In his living and in his dying, Jesus disclosed the goodness and love of God’s heart in a way unique in time and space. Whoever steps forward to stand by his side and is gripped by this total love is free from the judgment pronounced on the spirit of this world and age. Of course, any who want to follow the prince of this world – the zeitgeist that controls people and governs the earth as its god – are subject to the same judgment pronounced on him, since they follow the injustice of his mammon, the falsehood and lying and unfaithfulness of his deceit, and the murderous impulses of the abyss.

By contrast, those who follow and believe in Jesus have forsaken the destructive fury of the devil and his works. They are not judged, for they have already been judged: they have experienced the judgment of the spirit of the church, which has been carried out and is continually being carried out on their hearts, lives, and old human identity. They are judged in the new sense, that of grace, through which the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives itself to them and renews them completely in the very act of judgment.

Arnold, Eberhard, The Jesus of the Four Gospels, 2019, Bruderhof Historical Archive, Walden, NY, USA

Eberhard Arnold might stand accused of setting impossibly high standards, but for that third paragraph. None of us have abandoned completely the destroying devil, but we have the grace of the Spirit in our hearts and in our communities, our families, our colleagues and friends, each of whom challenges us to behave grace-fully and to repent and renew ourselves in that grace, freely given.

Happy everyday Easter!

27 March, Jeremiah XXXIII: not true to nature.

Starlings, true to their nature, know their time to come to their feeding places and roosts. Jeremiah laments that God’s people are not true to their human nature, but turn away from their Creator and do not pick themselves up when they fall, nor do they turn about when they are on the wrong path. They come to believe their own lies.

Maybe Judas was believing his own lies? He must have had some way of justifying his approach to the authorities. Did they suspect his wrong-doing, exposing himself to their blackmailing, while trying to keep his plans ‘confidential’ from his Lord and his fellow disciples? Spy Wednesday this day was once called.

You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the LORD.” Jeremiah 8: 5-8.

It is all too easy to believe the stories I tell myself about my deeds or misdeeds, my mixed motives and thoughtlessness, my lack of reflection. Lord, give me the patience to take a few minutes of quiet at day’s end to consider the graces given, the graces ignored, and to remember that I am not here to ‘do it my way’ but your way.

23 February, Jeremiah VIII: I am married unto Israel

The kingdom of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Kingdom of David, fell apart on the death of King Solomon. Judah was the smaller kingdom, based in Jerusalem, to the South. Israel was the northern part, and was already conquered and colonised by Assyria. That did not mean that God had abandoned them or forgotten them; here he sends Jeremiah toward the North with a message of repentance and hope. May I be given the knowledge and understanding to acknowledge my backsliding and turn from it!

And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

3:11-17 KJV

22 February: Jeremiah VII, faithless Israel.

A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God. “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers laboured, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonour cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

3:21-25. ESV

I remember one of those posters outside a church my school bus passed every day: ‘Wild oats make bitter bread’, it said. Our conduct has consequences, consequences for each one of us, but also for people we may never meet.

There is a time for regret and repentance, and that time is now; Lent is the time we are given to turn again to the Lord.

19 February: Reading and Listening

What advice would the king’s advisors receive from Hulda, the prophet?

After King Josiah had listened to the scroll of the Law … Helcias the priest, and Ahicam, and Achobor, and Saphan, and Asaia went to Hulda the prophetess the wife of Sellum the son of Thecua, the son of Araas keeper of the wardrobe, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second District: and they spoke to her.

And she said to them: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, all the words of the law which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, provoking me by all the works of their hands: therefore my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

But to the king of Judah, who sent you to consult the Lord, thus shall you say: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Forasmuch as thou hast heard the words of the book, and thy heart hath been moved to fear, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, hearing the words against this place, and the inhabitants thereof, to wit, that they should become a wonder and a curse: and thou hast rent thy garments, and wept before me, I also have heard thee, saith the Lord: Therefore I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace, that thy eyes may not see all the evils which I will bring upon this place.

22:14-20

How did the five officials feel knocking on Hulda’s door? Was she someone prone to trances or speaking in tongues, a bit crazy? She was a married woman and seems to have been well enough known and trusted to be the first prophet they consulted. She certainly felt free enough to pass on a very mixed message: good times will be Judah’s in Josiah’s time but after his death Judah will reap the whirlwind.

Let us pray to be moved by our reading of Scripture to repent and proclaim the Gospel by our lives.

15 February, Jeremiah III: far from God?

Here Jeremiah tells the people – ‘all the clans’ – how they have betrayed themselves and their God. We too have been given a plentiful land but we have defiled it when we should have cherished it: we have made it an abomination. We have turned away from God. We do not look back gratefully on our personal history or that of the communities we belong to.

Time to take stock this Lent. Time to ask ourselves, where is the Lord who led us through the wilderness? Time to step bravely into the deep darkness, to discern the kindly light and to follow it.

Kedar may be in Arabia or in modern India.

Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’ And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. (2:4-12).

14 February: Ash Wednesday. Jeremiah II.

Today Jeremiah warns the people of Jerusalem of a cruel enemy about to invade their territory; fear is on every side. Time for sackcloth and ashes, not just a cross on the forehead but to wallow, to cover themselves in ashes.

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

Most bitter lamentations; just seeing the wars ravaging our home is enough to evoke lamentations but we should not keep our consciences shiny while ignoring how our need or desire for the products of war-torn countries contributes to greed, corruption and oppression, and on to open conflict. We use Nigerian oil, Russian gas, Israeli fruit, Ukrainian sunflower oil…

Wallowing in ashes would be most uncomfortable – but discomfort is a feeling we should experience, at least from time to time, when we contemplate our part, however unwilling, in the sufferings of others. Let’s pray for them, and for ourselves that we may adopt habits and purchases that treat workers fairly.

20 January, Church Unity Week: love God and love neighbour III.

Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth pictures

Today we share part of the suggested ecumenical prayer service for the Week of Prayer for Church Unity.

Litany of Praise and Thanksgiving
Let us turn our hearts to God in praise:
Praise to you Lord for you have poured out your love into our hearts so that we never lose
hope. You free our lives from fear because of your love, and dress our wounded and injured
hearts. Praise to you for all the women and men who sow seeds of love and hope for their
neighbours around the world.
A Lord, we praise you.

Eternal God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus your Son, the Redeemer of all people. Thanks be to you for the grace of conversion and all the seeds of faith, hope and charity among your people and everywhere. Thanks be to you for the faith we received from the apostles, for Jesus’ prayer for unity, and for the gift of the Good News of salvation.
A Lord, we thank you.

L God of love, we adore you for the generosity of your love for all people – a love so perfect,it is beyond our understanding; a love in which there is no distinction on grounds of race, gender or social status. We adore you, who out of love sent your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world and continue to fill our lives with your love through the Holy Spirit.
A Lord, we adore you.

Prayers of Confession

L We come before you now, O God, to confess our sins:
R By seeking happiness without God and ignoring the command to love, we have turned away from God and from our neighbour. Our selfishness and our desire to possess and control separate us from God.
Silence
R Merciful God:
A forgive and heal us.

R When we accept ideologies that demean the humanity of others, we build walls of division, sow the seeds of hatred and violence and abandon the Lord’s command to love one another.
Silence
R Merciful God:
A forgive and heal us.

R We have hardened our hearts and deceived ourselves. In our lack of compassion, we no
longer see Jesus in those who are different from ourselves.
Silence
R Merciful God:
A forgive and heal us.

R We fail to open our hearts and minds to the infinite and unconditional nature of God’s love for all. By being closed to this love, the world is darkened by selfishness, violence,
indifference and absence of meaning.
Silence
R Merciful God:
A forgive and heal us.

L God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whom you sent in the fullness of time to redeem all
creation, we ask you to have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and transform us by your Holy Spirit.
A Glory to God, whom we praise with one voice.

A Holy God!
Holy Strong!
Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!

8 July: insensitive to the cries of other people.

Lampedusa Cross made from timbers of a wrecked boat.

This is the opening of an article in the National Catholic Reporter marking ten years since Pope Francis visited to raise awareness and concern for migrants hoping to reach Europe. Follow the link to read on.

When Pope Francis visited Lampedusa in July 2013, few people had ever heard of the tiny Italian island. Ten years later, however, it has become synonymous with his papacy.

While the visit itself lasted only half a day, the message the pope preached over just a few hours on the sweltering hot morning of July 8, 2013, set a tone for his young pontificate when he blasted what he called a “culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

On an altar made of a painted boat, the pope celebrated a penitential Mass to mourn migrants lost at sea in search of a better future, lamenting that the world had neglected their plight. That year alone, some 8,000 migrants and asylum seekers had arrived at Lampedusa — an island closer to North Africa than it is to Italy — with at least 500 reported dead or missing the year before.

Ten years later, that consequential visit has become a seminal reference point for Catholic social teaching and call to action for the church and governments alike.

6 June, Reflections on the Mass II:‘Those Who Sing, Pray Twice’

This is the second of Canon Anthony Charlton’s reflections on the Eucharist. These pilgrims are singing and playing their instruments as they gather at the Abbey of St Maurice in Switzerland for the annual Pilgrimage for the Martyrs of Africa. St Maurice and his Companions were Egyptian Roman soldiers, martyred in what is now St Maurice, but the pilgrimage is timetabled to be near the feast of the Uganda Martyrs, 3rd June.

So here we are, the gathered people of God, and we have responded to the invitation of Jesus to come and celebrate. Jesus has invited us.

Note that the first instruction in the Roman Missal says that the Entrance chant begins as the priest enters with the servers. I know there are some who prefer a ‘quiet Mass’, because they are not keen on singing. The purpose of this chant is to open the celebration, foster unity of all who are gathered, introduce their thoughts to the liturgical season and accompany the procession. The entrance Antiphon can be sung by a choir; or often a hymn is sung, based on a psalm. If there is no singing, the congregation is encouraged to recite the antiphon together.

It is important that singing should be an essential part of each celebration. We use what talent we have to praise and give thanks to God. Singing creates unity, brings about unity. St Augustine said: ‘Those who sing, pray twice.’ The first prayer is the words we use. The second prayer is the extra we add to those words when we express them in song.

When the priest reaches the altar, as a sign of reverence he kisses it. The Altar, says the General instruction of the Roman missal, ‘should occupy a place where it is truly the centre toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns.’ These rules are repeated in the Order of Dedication of a Church and an Altar; this ensures that newly-dedicated altars are freestanding, so that the priest may face the congregation (IV:8). The altar is known as the altar of the sacrifice of the cross and the table of thanksgiving. In our church we have retained the old High Altar, because of its artistic merit.

As the priest goes to the chair we have the Penitential Rite, which needs to be simple and brief. It is time to acknowledge our sinfulness. During the pause, one writer suggests that ‘we reflect in silence on our human condition and implore the divine mercy.’ This is different from celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation. The purpose of the Penitential Rite is to acknowledge our sins in order to enter the celebration with a humble spirit.

The blessing and sprinkling of water may replace the Penitential Act as a reminder of Baptism, and this is especially recommended for the Easter Season.

We then say, or sing, a song of praise that has been sung for over 1500 years: the Gloria. And after this ancient song of praise, the priest introduces the opening prayer, knows as The Collect. All of us, together with the priest, observe a brief silence so that we may be conscious of the fact that we are in God’s presence. The prayer expresses the character of the celebration. The text of the prayer is usually in four parts: an address to God by some title, an acknowledgement of God’s mighty deeds, a petition and a concluding formula.

In this third week of Easter, we pray:

“May your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.”

Canon Father AnthonyParish Priest

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